JSONID - Revision history

Ross-spencer: Add information about sample files

2026-01-26T10:20:38Z

Add information about sample files

Ross-spencer: Add example output

2026-01-26T10:18:51Z

Add example output

Ross-spencer: Update information about technical characteristics

2026-01-04T22:47:25Z

Update information about technical characteristics

Ross-spencer: Add information on technical characteristics

2026-01-04T17:34:43Z

Add information on technical characteristics

Ross-spencer: Add information on PRONOM output

2026-01-04T17:04:25Z

Add information on PRONOM output

Ross-spencer: Add new record for JSONID

2026-01-03T12:48:53Z

Add new record for JSONID

New page

{{Infobox tool
|purpose=Identification of JSON, YAML, and TOML document types
|homepage=https://github.com/ffdev-info/jsonid
|sourcecode=https://github.com/ffdev-info/jsonid
|license=Apache 2.0
|cost=Free and Open Source (FOSS)
|platforms=Windows, Linux, MacOS
|language=Python
|formats_in=JSON, JSONL, YAML, TOML
|function=File Format Identification
}}
{{Infobox tool details}}
== Description ==


Identification of JSON, YAML, and TOML document types.

== Functionality ==

JSONID parses serialization/deserialization formats ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serialization "serde"]) such as JSON, YAML, and TOML to provide unambiguous identification.
JSONID also introduces a declarative syntax for writing document type signatures to enable identification of specific serde document types.
Key-value attributes can be shared across formats, and so signatures for JSON and YAML, for example, need only be written once.

=== Registry ===

As a temporary placeholder JSONID signatures are available [https://ffdev-info.github.io/jsonid/registry/ in a registry]. The long-term goal of this project is to enable other registries to delivery JSONID compatible signatures, e.g. PRONOM, Wikidata, and remove the need for a centralized resource like this.

=== Universal fingerprint ===

JSONID exports two universal fingerprints enabling the assertion of equivalence between different data objects. Universal Numerical Fingerprint (UNF) is also used in the [https://guides.dataverse.org/en/latest/developers/unf/index.html Dataverse project].
Content Identifiers (CIDs) come from the [https://docs.ipfs.tech/concepts/content-addressing/ IPFS project] and enable content-addressed storage within that ecosystem and others.

== User experiences ==

* [https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11zQTMwiXRa3UNyUSKTLwcCMos0gg9SpMxdrWOXF0lr4/edit?usp=sharing Introducing JSONID @ NTTW].
* [https://openpreservation.org/blogs/on-the-lookout-looking-for-common-json-files-and-introducing-jsonid/ On the lookout for common JSON files].

= Development Activity =

All development activity is visible on GitHub: https://github.com/ffdev-info/jsonid/commits

=== Release Feed ===
Below the last 3 release feeds:
<rss max=3>https://github.com/ffdev-info/jsonid/releases.atom</rss>

=== Activity Feed ===
Below the last 5 commits:
<rss max=5>https://github.com/ffdev-info/jsonid/commits/main.atom</rss>

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:20, 26 January 2026
Line 171:		Line 171:

	See the [https://github.com/ffdev-info/jsonid?tab=readme-ov-file#pronom JSONID docs] for more information.		See the [https://github.com/ffdev-info/jsonid?tab=readme-ov-file#pronom JSONID docs] for more information.
		+
		+	== Sample files ==
		+
		+	Sample files used for the development of JSONID signatures can be found in their [https://github.com/ffdev-info/jsonid-integration-files own repository].

	== User experiences ==		== User experiences ==

@@ Line 131: / Line 131: @@
 </table>
 <br>
 === PRONOM signature development ===

@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 === Technical characteristics ===
-JSONID tries to explore potential technical characteristics that can
+JSONID explores potential technical characteristics that can
 be attributed to serde formats. An example for a basic JSON object might
 look as follows:
@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 JSONID exports two universal fingerprints enabling the assertion of equivalence between different data objects. Universal Numerical Fingerprint (UNF) is also used in the [https://guides.dataverse.org/en/latest/developers/unf/index.html Dataverse project].
 Content Identifiers (CIDs) come from the [https://docs.ipfs.tech/concepts/content-addressing/ IPFS project] and enable content-addressed storage within that ecosystem and others.
 === PRONOM signature development ===

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:34, 4 January 2026
Line 25:		Line 25:

	As a temporary placeholder JSONID signatures are available [https://ffdev-info.github.io/jsonid/registry/ in a registry]. The long-term goal of this project is to enable other registries to delivery JSONID compatible signatures, e.g. PRONOM, Wikidata, and remove the need for a centralized resource like this.		As a temporary placeholder JSONID signatures are available [https://ffdev-info.github.io/jsonid/registry/ in a registry]. The long-term goal of this project is to enable other registries to delivery JSONID compatible signatures, e.g. PRONOM, Wikidata, and remove the need for a centralized resource like this.
		+
		+	=== Technical characteristics ===
		+
		+	JSONID tries to explore potential technical characteristics that can
		+	be attributed to serde formats. An example for a basic JSON object might
		+	look as follows:
		+
		+	<pre>
		+	{
		+	"content_length": 82,
		+	"number_of_lines": 9,
		+	"line_warning": false,
		+	"top_level_keys_count": 1,
		+	"top_level_keys": [
		+	"key1"
		+	],
		+	"top_level_types": [
		+	"map"
		+	],
		+	"depth": 4,
		+	"heterogeneous_list_types": false,
		+	"fingerprint": {
		+	"unf": "UNF:6:YEKQWBGm75JsN6H+8SzYRg==",
		+	"cid": "bafkreidexnd3r76r5h3invwvu554573px5z4fg4uglw4pextmqc765kz64"
		+	},
		+	"doctype": "JSON",
		+	"encoding": "UTF-8",
		+	"agent": "jsonid/0.12.0 (ffdev-info)"
		+	}
		+	</pre>
		+
		+	The use of these technical characteristics will be explored in the
		+	documentation and future writing.

	=== Universal fingerprint ===		=== Universal fingerprint ===